Alumni Association names
2006 Alumni Award recipients

NIU's Alumni Association honored 10 recipients of its 2006 Alumni Awards at a private reception and dinner April 20, at the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center.

Recipients were selected based on outstanding professional and personal successes, as well as involvement in civic, cultural or charitable activities.

“NIU alumni have gone on to distinguish themselves and Northern in countless ways,” said Pat Anderson, director of alumni relations. “Our Alumni Awards program seeks to recognize some of those outstanding individuals who have gone out and achieved great success in their personal and professional lives.”

Sally Stevens received the F.R. Geigle Service Award, Dennis Barsema collected the prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award and Nicholas O. Brooks was presented with the Outstanding Alumni Award.

Seven other alumni received Outstanding College Alumni Awards from their respective areas of study: Dean DeBiase, for the College of Business; Lixin Huang, for the College of Education; Gerald E. Stark, for the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology; Sister Judith Ann Duvall, O.S.F., for the College of Health and Human Sciences; Barbara Giorgi Vella, for the College of Law; William B. Burr, for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and Joyce L. Marcus, for the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Distinguished Alumni Award

The most prestigious award given by the NIU Alumni Association, the Distinguished Alumni Award is presented to an alumnus who has achieved outstanding success in his or her profession.

Dennis Barsema graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in management in 1977. His generosity to his alma mater has provided important support for student programs and scholarships but in a much more visible way has changed the landscape of NIU's campus. However, financial support is just one aspect of Barsema's importance to the NIU community. Despite his many accomplishments and accolades, his ability to relate to NIU students and young alumni in a modest and honest manner inspires them by his example. Making several trips to NIU each year, Barsema generously devotes his time and expertise to the College of Business as a teacher and mentor.

F.R Geigle Service Award

This award is given to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding service and commitment to the best interests of NIU. This service may have been given in the classroom, in other university activities or in the wider community.

For most of her life, Sally Stevens has been connected to NIU. Serving as secretary to six university presidents, Stevens devoted her professional life to the betterment of NIU. She has said before that she always knew the day would come for her to leave a legacy at NIU, and she has done just that. Through her generosity, endowed scholarships have been established for students in the schools of Art, Music and Theatre and Dance. Stevens also has given her financial support to the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center and the Academic and Athletic Performance Center .

Outstanding Alumni Award

The Outstanding Alumni Award is presented to an individual who has exhibited outstanding professional and personal accomplishments within 10 years of earning an undergraduate degree from NIU.

Nicholas O. Brooks graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2002 and shortly thereafter signed a contract with Celebrity Management, beginning his professional solo career as a singer in Las Vegas and abroad. Not only is Brooks a wonderfully talented singer, he has used his degree to make an impact on today's youth by establishing educational programs and summer camps that introduce children and teenagers to the world of the arts.

Outstanding College Alumni Awards

In addition to the award presented to a member of the general alumni population, individual awards are given to a representative from each of the university's seven colleges, thereby highlighting the diverse disciplines of a comprehensive university.

College of Business

Dean DeBiase graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1980 and has since built leading business services and consumer products companies, and run global subsidiaries of Fortune 500 corporations in various media, communications, technology and entertainment sectors. With such a vast array of experience, DeBiase was selected earlier this year to take part in the co-authoring of the book “The Big Moo” along with legendary business authors Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Tom Peters and others.

College of Education

Lixin Huang graduated from NIU with a master's degree in education with an emphasis on leadership and educational policy studies in 1988. Today she is the president of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) in San Francisco . Under Huang's guidance, ACTCM is quickly becoming the premier institution of Oriental medicine in North America .

College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

Gerald E. Stark graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1989 and is currently the vice president of product development and education for Fillauer, Inc. Stark's extensive contribution to the scientific community includes more than 70 presentations given between 1996 and 2005, and more than 40 written additions to various publications and reference books.

College of Health and Human Sciences

Sister Judith Ann Duvall, O.S.F., graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1972 and is currently president of OSF Healthcare System. The approximately 12,000 OSF employees in Illinois and Michigan provide care to more than 2.5 million people in the communities they serve. With annual revenues of around $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2005, OSF Healthcare System is nationally recognized as a leading integrated healthcare network of facilities.

College of Law

Barbara Giorgi Vella graduated from NIU with a master's degree in education in 1987 and a juris doctorate degree in law in 1992. She is a partner with Vella & Lund, P.C., of Rockford , specializing in family law and mediation. Vella, a longtime community leader, was elected chair of the NIU Board of Trustees in June 2005 and remains in that seat. Vella is the first Rockford resident and the first woman to lead NIU's independent governing board since its inception in 1996.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

William B. Burr earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from NIU in history in 1971, 1975 and 1987. On Sept. 20, 2005, in New York City, Burr's hard work as lead researcher paid off as he accepted the 2005 Emmy Award for outstanding achievement in news and documentary research for the documentary “Declassified: Nixon in China,” produced by ABC News Productions for the Discovery Times Channel.

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Joyce L. Marcus graduated from NIU with a bachelor's degree in art education in 1969 and is the founder and CEO of Marcus Advertising, Inc. Marcus started this company with little more than $1,000; today the company has grown to more than $8 million in capitalized billings and counts several Fortune 500 companies among its clients. Marcus also uses her marketing brilliance in her humanitarian efforts. In 1991, she created the team that developed the initial marketing plan for the first annual Y-ME Race against breast cancer. She worked with staff, volunteer teams and corporate sponsors to build the race's revenues from $300,000 in the first year to more than $3.7 million in 2005.

5-1-06